Why Kaitlyn's New Look & New Style Is a Big Improvement

As usual, there’s not a whole lot to be optimistic about when it comes to the WWE Divas division.

Following the recent departures of several top female talents, the division is arguably at an all-time low, with a paper-thin roster that only features a couple of really good performers.

A.J. Lee and Eve Torres are undoubtedly the top Divas in the WWE, but a new and improved Diva seems to be bringing a little more hope to women’s wrestling in Kaitlyn.

Please, don’t be mistaken and think I’m saying that Kaitlyn is or will be the savior of the Divas division. After all, I don’t think there is anyone who really believes that’s the case.

However, considering that she’s been the most-pushed babyface Diva (in a wrestling role, at least) over the last couple of months, I have to say that I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the progress she’s made—especially recently.

The main problem with the Divas division in recent years is that those women simply don’t get enough TV time or well-booked feuds and angles to make the fans care about them. The women try hard, but the writing is often so bad and their matches so short that it would take a minor miracle to generate any genuine interest in anything that they do.

Over the last couple of weeks, however, the WWE has at least tried to make Kaitlyn do something that only A.J. and Eve have been able to do in 2012: Stand out.

The WWE is filled with cookie-cutter Divas who do nothing, or who aren’t really given the opportunity to do anything, to make them stand out from the rest of the pack. Generally speaking, it’s just a small group of female talents who are so interchangeable that they change their face/heel status seemingly every week without anyone even caring.

Lately, though, the company seems to be trying to do a few things to make Kaitlyn seem different from the other babyface Divas on the roster.

For starters, she ditched the standard Diva wrestling attire for a more simple look that seems to work really well for her. It sort of reminds me of Angelina Jolie, a Tomb Raider/Mr. and Mrs. Smith combo that makes her look like a woman you wouldn’t want to mess with.

I like it, mainly because it’s something that you don’t really see any of the other Divas do. The rest of the WWE’s female performers all have the same basic concepts for their attires, with only slight variations that make them seem any different from each other.

Perhaps more importantly, though, is the change in Kaitlyn’s in-ring style that has accompanied her new look.

By no means is she doing anything revolutionary lately, but if you watched her Divas championship match against Eve at Survivor Series, you could probably tell that she had a more aggressive and vicious style in the ring. It’s been almost heel-like in a way, with relentless attacks in the ring that make her come across like a female Sheamus.

That’s a great route to take with Kaitlyn’s character.

She’s a beautiful woman, but much like Beth Phoenix, her main appeal is that she’s got a bodybuilder-like physique that’s even more impressive than many of the guys on the main roster. Thus, it makes sense for her to be strong and brutal—a bona fide butt-whooper that shows a lot of intensity in the ring, regardless of whether she’s face or heel.

When you couple this no-nonsense attitude that Kailtyn seems to be developing with a new look that is both simple and effective, it’s doing something that is really hard for Divas not named A.J. or Eve to do these days, and that’s get noticed.

While Kaitlyn may not be the WWE’s best overall female talent and could probably still use some more seasoning before she gets pushed as the WWE’s top babyface Diva, she’s making progress, which is a good sign for a Divas division that generally doesn’t make much.

I don’t think Kaitlyn is going to be the next great Diva or anything like that, but it’s nice to see her change things up a bit.

She’ll be better off because of it, both in the short and long term.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter!